Roadside Assistance - boat & trailer

davidpbo

davidpbo

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Boatless in Cheshire. Formerly 23ft Jeanneau Tonic
myweb.tiscali.co.uk
My Automobile Association membership is due. Cc £250, 2 cars, home start, relay etc.

Is there an alternative that would provide similar coverage AND include boat and trailer.

Boat 24 ft plus say <1m of draw bar to tow hitch.
All up weight 2.4 Tonnes.

AND if you have a suggestion, have you had experience of using them.
How long did they take to come?
Attitude?
Ability to fix at road side?

Thank you for looking.
 
davidpbo said:
My Automobile Association membership is due. Cc £250, 2 cars, home start, relay etc.

Is there an alternative that would provide similar coverage AND include boat and trailer.

Boat 24 ft plus say <1m of draw bar to tow hitch.
All up weight 2.4 Tonnes.

AND if you have a suggestion, have you had experience of using them.
How long did they take to come?
Attitude?
Ability to fix at road side?

Thank you for looking.
Click to expand...


I have had 2 occasions to use AA roadside for a broken trailer. I have standard cover with roadside assistance & recovery to home. Both times no quibble about it just a little problem in the execution in that the trailer needed a very low recovery lorry - one with a fully demountable bed - and that took a while to organise. First time about 3-4 hours & the second time about 3-4 days.... despite me telling them the second time it was a very low trailer with an overhang that prevented a normal recovery lorry.

This was a 21.5 ft, about 2T all up, inc mast.
Attitude was good.
 
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My assistance package (Britannia) does include trailer - I thought this was normal - suggest you call AA and ask just what is covered, it's possible that trailer recovery is included.
Though it might not go as far as a 26' tow weighing 2.4 tonnes and with, presumably, a mast overhang. And even if it does you might have to wait for a suitable tow truck to become available.
(cross posted with above)
 
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I have no problem with waiting for an appropriate truck and have always had good service from AA (cars/vans only) but do wonder about if the problem was with the trailer. Friend of mine lost a trailer wheel and had to arrange own recovery. I believe in his case (smaller boat) trailer would have been recovered if it was the car that had had the problem.
 
Check out the Camping & Caravaning Club for their (I think RAC) package. I used to have it with a 3t 24' trailerable boat and used them once when I lost a bearing having already used my spare. No problems with getting it recovered once they had got over the shock of it. The Ts & Cs cover(ed) recovery of any legal sized trailer on or off the road. For the membership cost of the C&C club it was worth it.
 
You're paying too much. Go online and "join" the AA as a new member. Go for the personal cover. This gives you and partner coverno matter what car you are driving. I have this and pay a LOT less than you. When our caravan lost a wheel we were very happy with the service. As far as I recall we could have had the caravan recovered to home if the wheel couldn't be fixed.
 
I'm with Britannia Rescue through the Civil Service Motoring Association. Brilliant service that I've called on more than once to drag me and my boat around the country. A trailer up to 8m long is covered with the car. £38.50 a year. For £250 a year, I'd expect a bright yellow Chinook with the AA logo on the side....
 
Don't know for certain about trailers and the AA but I believe they do handle trailers.

As for that large renewal fee: I, just recently, got a renewal quote for over £150. And there is extra when we go abroad (fairly frequently). Had been looking at Green Flag, which can include abroad, and then went back to AA and complained. First quoted £120 and then £99. I think it would have gone lower if I had persevered.

My cover is for 2 people to drive any car, with a full set of additions. Normally number of cars doesn't come into the equation (but things may have changed).

Living near Portsmouth I take up the special offers with Brittany Ferries. The AA used to include so many days free continental cover but that was withdrawn some time ago. Going before Christmas to St. Malo. Car, 2 passengers, cabin both ways, £95. Staying in Dinan. Should be good.
 
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RAC are good, we pay 50 odd quid which covers all the cars,caravan and boats on trailers plus any car we might be in or driving.Make sure you specify towing though.Very quick to turn up but they obviously couldnt fix boat wheel bearing on the side of m4.
 
I think you need to read the small print on breakdown cover for trailers.

My trailer broke down in the 1990s and the AA recovered it.

AA cover got very expensive so I changed.

What I found is that most recovery services will recover the trailer if the car breaks down, but will not recover it if the trailer breaks down. They will, however, help you contact a recovery service which you have to pay for.
 
Nigel_Ward said:
I think you need to read the small print on breakdown cover for trailers.

My trailer broke down in the 1990s and the AA recovered it.

AA cover got very expensive so I changed.

What I found is that most recovery services will recover the trailer if the car breaks down, but will not recover it if the trailer breaks down. They will, however, help you contact a recovery service which you have to pay for.
Click to expand...

Some years ago I was towing a boat on a trailer and the trailer broke down (I had just bought the boat and trailer and was towing them home). Called the AA and eventually a truck that could take both car and trailer turned up (contractor, not actual AA). Just as we were about to set off the driver asked me to sign to say that I'd pay for the recovery. I thought my AA membership covered it and refused to sign. He still took me home. When I checked my cover it seemed it didn't actually cover it (though it wasn't very clear), but I never heard any more about paying for it.
 
I had a look at this a couple of years ago, the AA were the best option for getting a trailer home if there was a problem with it. From memory the other companies I tried wouldn't do big trailers and/or wouldn't cover a trailer problem.
The AA price is very negotiable, I renewed at about half of their original price for the same service.
 
I bought a trailer sailer in Sept this year, phoned round and the AA was the best. On their advice, took out monthy cover which covered a borrowed 4x4 and trailer of any size plus 'get me home'. I was only needing it to tow the boat back to the club as will be kept in the yard.
What they said was thaat I should take it out monthly (about £7.50) then cancel. It is a service they offer due to the number of guys in the forces that only need cover for a couple of months then nothing for 6 months while on tour.
They now have all my details and if I want to trail again then they activate me again.
I thought it was the best deal, some of the others would not cover a trailer + car of more than 20 ft I think it was.
 
Whoever you use for recovery buy it through a "cash back site" such as "Top cash back" (this one cost's you nothing) and AA are giving £60.60 at the moment for cover's costing over £100.00. (will probably soon be reduced back to £50.50.

I can save over half of the offered renewal rate by starting again as a new customer and using Top cash back.

Pete
 
SimonD said:
I'm with Britannia Rescue through the Civil Service Motoring Association. Brilliant service that I've called on more than once to drag me and my boat around the country. A trailer up to 8m long is covered with the car. £38.50 a year. For £250 a year, I'd expect a bright yellow Chinook with the AA logo on the side....
Click to expand...

Even without the CSMA discount which I lost along with several other things at my divorce Britannia is excellent. Usually one of the fastest responses, because they pay their contractors promptly so when it is busy Britannia is top of the list, and goos service. Never had to use them with a trailer or caravan on the back but it was covered.
 
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